Punk and Preppy

So, if you hadn't noticed yet, I finally got my hair done. Going dark for fall...and also because it means I get to save money by not highlighting my hair every 6 weeks.

Top: E.Leigh's
Pants: E.Leigh's
Shoes: Target
Bracelet: Excessory Exchange

Sometimes all you need is a simple graphic tee and nice quality, high waisted black shorts. I've paired these with leopard flats and gold jewelry, but you could easily add a brightly colored statement necklace for a pop of color. You can't tell, but this is the softest tee I've ever worn. Best thing is, since it's all from my new workplace, I can wear it to work whenever I want.

Would you style it like this, or pair it with a pop of color?

Linking up with Style Sessions, What I Wore Wednesday, Random Wednesday.

Sweet Pea's Party

When my bloggy friend, Lauren, emailed me about doing a product review of one of her new Important Dates Customized Chalkboards, I jumped at the opportunity. She recently opened an Etsy shop called Sweet Pea's Party and they have TONS of cute stuff. 

How cute is this?! I mean, for real! Despite Chris' face, he even said that it will look great at our wedding. In addition, Sweet Pea's Party has several other items in their shop that are just adorable. One of which, is a wreath for the door. I will probably be buying this one soon for Chris and my new apartment together.

Seriously y'all, just imagine this with a custom frame.  It will be perfect on one of the tables at our wedding reception! I have seen projects like this on Pinterest, and know that I couldn't make my own and it turn out this good, so if I wasn't doing a review, I would have definitely ordered one anyway. You can't really see this from the picture, but around the sides it lists all of the places Chris and I have been together!  After the wedding, you best believe this bad boy will be hung up somewhere in our house.

If you haven't already checked them out, you should do so! Oh and by the way, just for being the lovely readers that you are, Sweet Pea's Party is offering all of you 10% off any purchase using the code: jaime10. 

What's your favorite thing from their shop???

Worked My Little Hiney Off

I don't know about you, but I worked my little hiney off this weekend. Friday and Saturday I worked for about 9-10 hours each day for our Tent Sale. It was crazy ridiculous and I was pretty much the most hated person in the entire store. Why? Because I was in charge of the dressing rooms and had to implement a 5 minute time limit on each dressing room. Needless to say, people were not happy.

Saturday after a 10 hour shift, Chris and I sanded and scraped the varnish off two dressers (with help from my mom) and painted both. Check out how awesome one of them turned out. Chris and I will be using these in our new place! Pictures to come next month when we move in. :)

To treat myself for a weekend of hard work, I may or may not have ordered myself a new Erin Condren planner/notebook. (hint: I did) It's the coral one on the right! 

What did you do this weekend? What goodies did you treat yourself to?

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective, and Weekend Shenanigans. 

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Posts

HUGE Tent Sale going on at work this weekend! That means long hours and early mornings...meaning no time for blogging. 

Make sure to check out the latest issue of Southern Living because we are featured in it!

Tune back in on Monday and I promise to have a special treat for you!

So SORRY lovelies! I will be back on top of this blog thing on Monday!

Feasting on Cupcakes

As I'm laying in bed trying to figure out what to blog about for my post tomorrow, I find myself having countless different topics pop into my head but find them lacking in substance. I'm sorry, readers, that I've been slacking lately. If you have been tuning in, I've been moving, starting a new job, and about to move up to the town I will officially be working in this weekend. It's been a long and crazy week thus far.

Anyway, back to my endless stream of thoughts...I decided to go with one that has been "weighing" on me for approximately two days now. <<--Oh yeah, two days ago I started my job.

Let me start out by re-emphasizing that I LOVE the people I work with, but those girls eat and eat and stay stick thin. I mean, seriously, it's like the food inhales any ounce of fat they have left in their body then disintegrates. Come on now, really?! Meanwhile, I'm feasting on the cupcakes and onion rings left in the back room. 

Now, mind you, I don't consider myself fat or even close, but stick an apple next to a pencil and tell me the apple doesn't need to work out a little bit more. What do I do when I'm stuck inside just looking at them while I wipe the cupcake crumbs off my mouth? I'll tell you what....I repeat things I like about my body/myself in my head.

1. Yes, Jaime, MawMaw (grandma) did call you the President of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee, but it could be worse. You could have ginormous boobs that make you look bigger than you actually are and are hard to fit into certain pieces of clothing.

2. Those aren't love handles, they are curves. Work those curves. Own those curves.

3. It's okay that you aren't tall, because you're fun-sized. You can always stand in the front row because no one will complain about not being able to see over you.

                      

4. You might have "t-rex" arms, as Chris calls them, but at least you never have to worry about long sleeves not being long enough.

5. According to the new Barbies, you are average. Success. 

That's all I've got. What do you tell yourself to make you feel better when you are feeling insecure? 

Linking up with Just Because.

A Laugh at My Expense

As many of you know, yesterday was my first day of work at my new job. <--insert applause here.

I thought I'd fill you in on the highs and lows of my first day.

Highs include, but are not limited to:

1.  The people I work with are pretty awesome. Don't get me wrong, I've had some bomb.com co-workers in the past and love them all dearly; however, God has blessed me with some kindred souls at this job. Sometimes when I talk/listen to them it's like talking to another version of myself.

2. Although I don't have a WIWW outfit post for you up today, I promise there will be tons to come because I get to work all day long with beautiful clothing. Seriously, every girl's dream come true.

3. I made a few sales yesterday and for those of you in sales, you can attest to the "high" that you get from closing that deal. It's exhilarating!

Lows include:

1. My feet are killing me. I complained about having to sit at a desk all day long at my old job, and now I'm on my feet all day long and wishing I had a chair. The grass isn't always greener. The feet will just have to get used to standing, and I will need to invest in better shoes but I would gladly trade this pain for the joy of the job itself.

2. This is the story that created the title of this post. Sorry if it is a little too explicit. Basically, toward the end of the day, I had to use the bathroom. I hadn't used the bathroom all day long and had to go-go, if you know what I mean. So, without further ado, I go into the bathroom (the only one in the store) and do the deed. Afterwards, I realize the toilet isn't flushing. It wasn't clogged, there was simply no water running. 

I go out and tell the manager of that store and he says "oh, well I will go in and check it, it's okay, we are all family here." Immediately, I'm like "NO!"--but in a totally chill, non-challant kind of way. If this weren't embarrassing enough on my first day of work, I then go back into the bathroom to try to mess with the toilet to fix it. I pull the lid off the back and a whole cup of toilet water spills down onto my dress. 

Walking back out, in shame, I tell him I don't know what to do to fix it and that he needs to walk me through it. It ended up being an easy fix (turn the water back on), but I had the great pleasure of walking around the rest of the day with a toilet water stained dress and probably a few new nicknames at that. Great first impression Jaime, way to go.

Have you ever had any embarrassing work stories? What do you think some of my new nicknames are?

I Don't Mean to Brag But...

I don't mean to brag...but, I've pretty much figured out this whole wedding thing. 

Alright, so I figured it was about time to do another wedding update. Chris and I have found our "destination wedding" venue. It's called Avondale Chapel and it's in Northwest Arkansas (halfway between our two families). It's perfect.

Not only does it provide that cute southern, plantation look that I have always envisioned, but it's also all-inclusive. What do I mean by all-inclusive? I'm glad you asked! Check it out:

Regal Wedding & Reception Package

Wedding Coordinator

Additional hour of use (5 hr total)

1-hr rehearsal**

Private dressing rooms for both the bride and groom

Ceremony setup and cleanup

 Ceremony CD Music

Minister (optional)

Candelabras with candles, signature flowers and greenery

Aisle candelabras

Aisle runner

Reception Coordinator
Reception setup and cleanup
DJ (during reception)
Draped service tables
Wedding cake
Groom’s cake
Punch, coffee, nuts, and mints
Servers
Hors d’oeuvres
Champagne flutes (couple only)
Wedding Bubbles
Tableware, glassware, silverware and serving pieces
Printed napkins with names and date
Cloth napkins
Round tables with floor-length tablecloths (black, white, or ivory)
Colored tablecloth overlays (optional colors)
Deluxe Centerpieces (with custom colors)
Chairs
Custom Lighting

So, basically the only thing that isn't covered with this is the photographer, wedding attire (bridal party, bride, groom, etc.), invitations, and alcohol. For the alcohol, we have decided to just buy in bulk from Sam's Club and hire someone for about $100 to bartend. This package says hors d'oeuvres, but we actually upgraded to a plated meal (stay tuned to help us choose which meal to serve) to serve for dinner. 

The only thing we have to do for this package is meet with the wedding coordinators 3 months prior to the wedding and tell them exactly what we want--table cloth colors, etc.--and select the cakes, flowers, etc. The whole meeting should only take about two hours. How easy is that?! I know, I told you to be jealous. But here's the best part: the entire package only costs $4250 (for 50 people...we are paying about $2000 more to include meals and factoring in about 150 people). Yeah...I've managed to plan my entire wedding for under $10,000.

What do you think? Did we do good? What are your thoughts on "all-inclusive" weddings? 

Hello Beautiful

Alright, last time I talk about moving...until I have to move all of my stuff into my new apartment, that is.

1. I just want EVERYONE to know that I drove this bad boy from the Uhaul store to my apartment, approximately 8 miles of ridin' dirty in the 'haul. 

2. Daddio drove us all the way back to the great state of AR. Hello beautiful. Haven't lived here in two years and you better believe that I will never move away again. 

3. Thanks to my brother and sister's friends, we were able to get everything unloaded and into the storage unit in under an hour. Did I mention that I hired movers to come and load up the Uhaul in KY? Best decision I have made in a long time. No lie. If you are moving and it's just you, or you and your significant other, I would highly recommend sucking it up and spending the money to have them load all of your belongings.

4. After unloading everything into the storage unit, mom had made everyone some tacos as a "thank you".  This was just half of everything she made for the tacos. It was delicious! 

I start my new job tomorrow and would appreciate any advice you might have for me! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and everything went as smoothly for you as it did for me!

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective, and Weekend Shenanigans. 

Moving Weekend!

1. Gotta love those quick conversations with the sister. 

2. Following up on numero uno, love those FaceTime conversations with the kitties.

3. Chris and I got our engagement picture proofs back this week. LOVE them. Check out a few here.

4. It's moving weekend! Everything is being loaded into the U-haul tonight, dad's flying in, and we are driving back to the big A-R (that's Arkansas for those of you that don't know your state abbreviations and think that means Arizona.) YAY for moving home!

5. Just got a preview of my Important Dates Chalkboard Sign courtesy of Sweet Pea's Party. (they are correcting my name, for any of you that know how it's spelled.)

Don't forget to enter to win a $100 gift card of your choice.

Linking up with Friday Favorites and H54F.

Taking Your Relationship For Granted

As many of you know, Chris and I have been doing the LDR (long distance relationship) thing for the past two years--actually the majority of our relationship.

So...what am I looking forward to doing with my fiancé when I move back to the same town with him this weekend? I'm glad you asked! Here's a list of things that all of you "same towners" can do/should do, that Chris and I will finally be able to do for the first time in two years.

1. Datelivery. I've been wanting to do this for a while and haven't been able to without my date. Basically, Datelivery sends you a package in the mail, for a flat rate, that gives you an entire date night in a box. The themes are different every time.

2. Farmer's market trips. I've been going solo all summer. Chris would never admit it, but he LOVES the farmer's market, like LOVES. Getting to go together might seem trivial to you, but it's so exciting for me.

3. Cooking in the Cottage. Alright, cooking classes make for a great date night AND they help improve my cooking skills (which Chris is extremely appreciative of). 

4. Pre-Marital Counseling. This might not apply to many of you, but this is something I am very much looking forward to. Chris is a little weary of the idea of "counseling"; however, I think this will provide more insight into our relationship that we might not have observed otherwise. 

5. Jate Nights. What is a "Jate Night?" This is what Chris and I call our junk food and wine Friday nights. We enjoy getting cheese cubes, potato chips, french onion dip, popsicles, wine/beer, and the tv show marathon of the month. You really can't do this with anyone other than your best friend and be content.

These are just five, of many, things that I can't wait to actually be able to do with Chris. Don't take your relationship for granted. Get out and do some things with your significant other...some people can't spend all that time with theirs because of the distance. There...I'm off of my soap box. :)

What date ideas do you have for us? This will be the first time in two years we are in the same town, so please, please, please we will take any advice you have!

Don't forget to enter to win a $100 gift card of your choice.

Linking up with Just Because.

Pack That Crap Up

What do you do when you're a girl without a boy...to help you pack?

I've devised a list of tips here that I found personally useful during my packing experience this weekend.

1. This may or may not be the one and only time it is considered mildly appropriate to wear a fanny pack. The fanny pack will be carrying the packing tape, box cutter, and gum. Again, I want to re-emphasize that this is the ONLY time that it is alright to wear a fanny pack IN PRIVATE, unless your name is Big Deal Richard. <--BDR can wear his fanny pack all around Branson and no one will give him crap. (Love you Dad)

2. Reward yourself. I call my reward system the "bridal packing reward system". Why? Because for every box I packed, I was allowed to eat one popsicle. "Packing" on that weight before the wedding. Holla. Wait...that's not what you're suppose to do?!

3. Following up #3, reward yourself with ALL of the leftover wine/champagne/alcohol in the fridge. Who else is going to drink it. Packing partyyyyy!

4. Call EVERY man in your life and constantly nag them for 15 minutes about why they are not there to help you with this. At least daddy-o is flying in to drive the U-haul down. Guilt trip=success. Just kidding, he commented "I'm actually surprised they even let you rent the U-haul with your driving record." Sad, but true. 

5. Try to sell all the useless crap you have kept for no apparent reason what-so-ever. Why do I need a papasan chair? I mean, it was cool in 1986, but now it's just a pain to move from place to place and a nice little chew toy for the kitties.

6. Pack away each and every one of your 16 mac and cheese's with your wine box. All of your valuables should definitely be stored together, and with caution. 

7. Label every box "fragile-break and you die". Just so no one can mistake your intentions.

8. Show no shame. Try to sell all of your left over food to your friends before taking it to the homeless shelter. Okay, okay I'm just kidding...but not really.

Alright, that's all I've got for today. More advice to come this week, I'm sure. 

What packing tips do you have for me? 

Don't forget to enter to win $350 cash and a $100 gift card of your choice.

Favorite Things Gift Card Giveaway

For this months Favorite Things Giveaway we are giving away $100 to your choice of Nordstrom, Home Depot, Amazon, Target, Sephora, or Lululemon! Which means there is pretty much an option for everyone, whether you want to freshen up your style, just bought a new house, live in yoga pants...or all of the above!

 

Lauren / Beth / Laura
Amie / Allison / Samantha
Tracey / Jaime / Lindsey

This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, 18 years or older. Winner will be verified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway